Experience of endoscopic thyroidectomy in a single center institution

Background Endoscopic thyroidectomy has been applied to various thyroid diseases to improve the cosmetic outcome of patients. Our center has adopted the bilateral axillo-breast approach (BABA) for certain thyroid diseases. The aim of this study is to report our experience of endoscopic thyroidectomy in comparison with open thyroidectomy to compare outcomes, com plications and feasibility. Methods Between January 2011 and December 2014 a total of 47 patients underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy for benign thyroid diseases. From January 2013 to December 2013 a total of 60 patients that underwent open thyroidectomy with the same criteria as endoscopic thyroidectomy patients were included as the control group. Age, sex, tumor size, operative time, length of hospital stay, and post-operative complications were analyzed. Results There was no statistically significant difference in terms of age, gender or size of thyroid nodule between the two groups. Majority of surgeries in both groups were hemithyroidectomies (87.2% in endoscopic group and 81.7% in open thyroidectomy group). The mean operative time for endoscopic group was significantly longer than open thyroidectomy group (238.2+73.6mins vs 120.2+38.8mins p<0.001). Length of hospitalization was also longer in the endoscopic group (mean 5.1+1.4days vs 3.7+1.6days p<0.001). Regarding post-operative complications, there was no statistically significant difference in terms of hypocalcemia, recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, skin numbness, skin burn or seroma formation. Conclusion Endoscopic thyroidectomy is a safe operative procedure and is a feasible alternative to open thyroidectomy for benign thyroid tumors.